This no-cook gluten-free red enchilada sauce comes together start to finish in a blender. 5 ingredients, 10 minutes – and done! It’s the perfect healthy dairy-free alternative to store bought sauces, and you won’t have to dirty another pan or add time to your dinner prep to make it.
Despite enchiladas being an iconic recipe from my first cookbook, if I’m being honest, they have not always been top of my Mexican-inspired menu options (taco girlie over here). For a one pan dish, most enchilada recipes usually involve multiple pans to get the sauce, filling and baking executed. It wasn’t until these gluten-free chicken enchiladas, which are streamlined into one pan, that I finally got on board.
Still, having gluten-free enchilada sauce already on hand really helps turn even a simplified enchilada recipe into a weeknight winner. This one is adapted from my new cookbook CARBIVORE and couldn’t be more insanely easy or delicious.
During the pandemic, I started experimenting with turning my usual marinara sauce (this one, bought in bulk) into different make-ahead sauces. It turns out all it takes are 2 fresh ingredients and 3 pantry staples to turn said tomato base into a fiery, flavorful and creamy red enchilada sauce that will blow any packaged brands out of the water.
Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce Ingredients
The only part of this recipe that takes time is soaking the cashews. It’s a common dairy-free trick in sauces and works especially well in this vegan enchilada sauce.
You can soak the cashews directly in boiling water in your blender bowl and simply add the remaining ingredients—scallions, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, tomato sauce—straight to them afterwards.
Once you puree until smooth, the gluten-free red enchilada sauce is READY TO ROLL. That’s it. No cooking necessary.
I’m always surprised that more people don’t use no-cook enchilada sauces since the mixture will essentially cook down and intensify in the oven. It’s a very easy step to skip in making quick enchiladas.
How to Make No-Cook Red Enchilada Sauce: Step by Step
How to make this enchilada sauce low fodmap
This dairy-free enchilada sauce is already gluten-free and vegan. To make it part of a low dinner recipe, simply omit the cashews (and water), and use only green scallions. You’ll also want to start with a low FODMAP pasta sauce (like this one).
If you want other sauces that are already low FODMAP, check out these low FODMAP vegetarian enchiladas or this dairy-free queso sauce.
How to use this gluten-free enchilada sauce
To make gluten-free enchiladas, simply start with corn tortillas (preferably warmed so they’re pliable) and your filling of choice (see these gluten-free chicken recipes for some ideas).
Spread a thin layer of sauce at the bottom of your baking dish, add a few tablespoons of filling to each tortilla, roll and arrange seam-side down. Top the tortillas with the remaining dairy-free enchilada sauce.
Most enchiladas do include cheese of some sort (plant-based or otherwise). The final step is to sprinkle the casserole with shredded cheese and bake at 425 for 20 minutes, or until bubbling and the cheese is lightly browned.
The best gluten-free enchiladas recipes:
You can also find the full gluten-free succotash recipe that this sauce is adapted from in CARBIVORE! See how gorgeous it is?
Read on for this dairy-free red enchilada sauce! If you’re looking for more delicious homemade condiments, make sure to check out my full list of gluten-free sauce recipes!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Blender Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 24 ounces marinara or tomato sauce about 3 cups
- 2 scallions roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the cashews in a high-speed blender and cover with 2⁄3 cup boiling water. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the blender with the cashews and add the scallions, jalapeño, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Puree until smooth, creamy, and orange in hue. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, as needed.
- Use the sauce in these gluten-free chicken enchiladas or the vegetarian succotash enchiladas from CARBIVORE!
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